David Andrews of Minnesota writes to pass along the following
announcement:

Mark your calendar for the Third Biennial Conference of Getting
in Touch with Literacy, a national conference focusing on the needs of individuals
who are blind or visually impaired. It will be held at the Radisson Plaza Hotel,
Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 25, 26, and 27, 1997. It is organized by Minnesota
Teachers of the Blind & Visually Impaired; Minnesota State Services for
the Blind; National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota; Minnesota Department
of Children, Families, and Learning; Minnesota Deaf/Blind Technical Assistance
Project; Minnesota State Academy for the Blind and Visually Impaired; AER of
Minnesota; and the Wisconsin Bureau of Exceptional Children.

Help us make The third Biennial Conference exceptionally exciting,
a conference of innovative as well as practical applications to literacy in
all stages of life. For further information contact Jean Martin, Minnesota Resource
Center for the Blind/Visually Impaired, Box 308, Faribault, Minnesota 55021-0308
(507)332-5510, e-mail [email protected]

Changing What it Means to be Blind--One School Assembly
at a Time:

We recently received the following little piece from Carol
Castellano. It is a useful reminder to us all of the importance of taking the
time to talk with school children. It also nicely summarizes the goals of such
programs. This is what she says:

Last week three members of the National Federation of the Blind
of New Jersey--Joe Ruffalo, affiliate President; Ed Lewinson, President of the
Northern Chapter of the NFB of New Jersey; and I, President of New Jersey Parents
of Blind Children--visited an elementary school to make a presentation about
blindness. We were to speak at two assemblies, one for the older students and
one for the younger.

The school principal introduced us to each group. In her first
introduction she said, "Boys and girls, as you know, today is the kickoff
of Helping Hands Week at Washington School, and this assembly is the first of
many activities. Our guests today are members of the National Federation of
the Blind, and for Helping Hands Week they are going to tell us how we can help
the blind." We then went on to give our presentation.

After the second group of students took their places in the
school's auditorium, the principal once again introduced us. But this time,
after having heard what we had to say in the first assembly, she said with great
enthusiasm, "Boys and girls, we are lucky to have with us today members
of the National Federation of the Blind. They are going to tell us all about
how blind people do just what everyone else does, simply by using different
tools and methods!"

Incidentally, here are the objectives we kept in mind as we
spoke to the students:

* For students to understand that blind people live full, normal,
productive lives, complete with jobs, families, friends, and fun

* For students to understand that blind people learn and use
simple, effective methods for doing tasks that sighted people do with eyesight

* For students to gain familiarity with the basic skills of
blindness

* For students to understand how a blind child gets an education

* For students to conclude that blind people are not helpless
and do not need to be watched over.

Hoping to Buy:

We have been asked to carry the following announcement:

I would like to buy a used Kurzweil Reading Edge in good condition
and English and Spanish recognition cards, which would allow the Kurzweil to
read in either language. Contact Gerardo Corripio in Braille or print at 9226
Wellsworth Drive, Houston, Texas 77083, or call (281) 530- 5640 weekdays after
2:30 p.m. or all day on weekends.

New Reading Service Available:

Ben Bazo, President of the Northwest Florida Radio Reading
Service, Inc., has asked us to carry the following announcement:

"The Voice of Print" of the Northwest Florida Radio
Reading Service, Inc., announces that we now have a toll- free phone number
at your service. It is available twenty- four hours a day, seven days a week.
An answering machine will take your call. Tell us your reading request, leave
your name and number, and your call will be returned as soon as possible. We
will record any personal material on tape: manuals, religious books, recipes,
address books, etc. This is a free service for the blind and physically handicapped.
We also have hurricane preparedness tapes available. Call 941-2888 (local) or
(888) 941-2888 (toll free).

Recipe Tapes Available:

We have been asked to carry the following announcement:

Recipe collections on 90-minute cassettes, including diabetic,
microwave meals, one-dish meals, crock pot recipes, low-fat/low-cholesterol,
vegetarian, and cookies. Tapes are $12 each. Send check, money order, or cash
to Janet Murphy, 24A Coddington St., Newport, Rhode Island 02840. All tapes
will be sent out the day your order is received.

Technical Brailling Service Planned:

We have been asked to carry the following announcement:

If you are a blind engineer, mathematician, or scientist, you
may be interested in the Technical Braille Center being established by a nonprofit
organization. This center will produce highly technical material in Braille
or in a special file format. Mathematics will be done in the Nemeth Code. Tactile
graphics will be included where practical. Books will be available to anyone
at prices that will depend on the cost of production. To secure funding to get
the service started, information is needed on how many people might use it and
the kinds of technical materials that are most needed. Please contact John J.
Boyer at Computers to Help People, Inc., 825 East Johnson Street, Madison, Wisconsin
53703, (608) 257-5917, e-mail [email protected]

This collection of tactile maps of the Middle East covers seventeen
countries from Egypt in the west to Iran in the east, from Turkey in the north
to Yemen in the south, and all countries, large and small, in between. The countries
are arranged alphabetically; each country is introduced by a page of facts in
Braille, followed by key information and a full-page map showing major cities,
physical features, and points of interest. In a few cases two maps are needed
to show this information. The scale of the maps varies from twelve miles per
inch for Lebanon, one of the smallest countries, to 120 miles per inch for Saudi
Arabia. Both the maps and the factual information are adapted from The World
Today Series: The Middle East and South Asia, 1996, by Malcolm B. Russell, Stryker-Post
Publications, West Virginia.

Five introductory maps provide an overall view of the Middle
East. These maps show the location of the Middle East in the Eastern Hemisphere,
the boundaries of the seventeen countries, the elevation, the climate, and the
location of the oil fields.

Some experience with tactile graphics is recommended. The complete
Atlas consists of sixty-nine Brailon pages, including twenty-five pages of maps,
bound with cardboard covers and a multi-ring binder. Cost, $20 including shipping.
Allow four to six weeks for delivery. Order from Princeton Braillists, 28-B
Portsmouth Street, Whiting, New Jersey 08759 or call (908) 350-3708.

Technical Summer Internships Available:

We have been asked to carry the following announcement:

AAAS and IBM announce a program to provide outstanding summer
opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students with disabilities who
are pursuing technical fields. The American Association for the Advancement
of Science (AAAS) is committed to strengthening the role of disabled professionals
in the advancement of technology for all industries. In that spirit we are participating
in a precedent-setting partnership with IBM. Continually seeking the brightest
minds anywhere, we hope to place qualified students with disabilities in internships
throughout the country. We want to offer opportunities to work with people who
are transforming the world using technologies that won't reach the classroom
for years.

Take Matt King, for example. When he's not working hard designing
database software for a mobile workstation, using computer screen-reading equipment
and a Braille printer, he is training for paralympic gold. Backed by IBM, there's
little that stands in Matt's way.

Think about it. An internship at IBM can get you where you
really want to be--up close with the hottest industry- advancing projects on
the planet. You'll be amazed at how quickly we'll start applying your skills.
In one summer you can get more real-world experience than most students get
in four years.

The 1997 summer program lasts from ten to twelve weeks. There
may be opportunities for successive summer internships and potential placement
upon graduation. To be eligible you must be majoring in a technical field, e.g.,
computer science, engineering, mathematics, or physical science. Provide a copy
of your resume, current GPA, and contact information.

IBM is committed to creating a diverse environment and proud
to be an equal opportunity employer. This program is open to U.S. citizens or
nationals; permanent residents, refugees, asylees, or those authorized to work
under the amnesty provision of U.S. immigration law. Contact Laureen Summers,
AAAS, (202) 326-6649 (phone/TDD) (202) 371-9849 or e-mail, [email protected]

New Baby:

Many Federationists know Joe and Patricia Miller. Mr. Miller
is largely responsible for seeing that the National Office computer network
behaves properly and does what it's requested to do. Mrs. Miller served as President
Maurer's Secretary for a number of years before she took over direction of the
Records Center. On Wednesday, March 12, at 1:00 a.m., the Millers' daughter
Alexandra Juliet made her first appearance in the world. She measured 18 1/2
inches in length and weighed 6 pounds, eleven ounces. All three members of the
Miller family are doing well, and the proud parents report that Alexandra is
extraordinarily beautiful. Congratulations to the Millers.

Extended Technical Support Hours at Blazie Engineering:

We have been asked to carry the following announcement:

Blazie Engineering has increased its weekly hours of available
telephone technical support by 33 percent. Effective immediately, customers
with questions about Blazie products can call Blazie any time between 8:00 a.m.
and 8:00 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, at (410) 893- 9333.

Blazie Engineering's customers with Internet access can also
find help there. Visit blazie.com on the World Wide Web to download files, link
to other blindness-related sites, catalog-browse, or access product demos and
manuals. Also available are e-mail discussion groups known as list- servers.
These are forums of dialogue between users of Blazie products and Blazie Engineering
tech support personnel.

I will laminate address cards for mailing cassettes. The lamination
process provides much longer use without the cards' being worn out or ruined
by weather. The size of the lamination can range from a business card up to
a 4-by-6- inch card. The cost of this service varies. Business cards and wallet-sized
pictures cost fifty cents each. Anything bigger than this costs $1 each. If
the customer would like me to type out all of the information on the card, the
cost is $1.25 per card. I must receive all of the information, including correct
spellings, for the address cards in Braille or on cassette. I will only accept
money orders and cashier's checks as payment. If there are any questions about
this service, please contact Claudia Del Real, 2346 Birch Ave., Whiting, Indiana
46393-2135, (219) 688-0716.

Guitar-by-Ear Course Available:

We have been asked to carry the following announcement:

A new guitar course just for the visually impaired has been
released. The all-cassette course (nothing to see or read) was created by Bill
Brown, who has been teaching guitar for over twenty-five years. The cost of
the course is $34.95, which includes shipping and access to a tuning hot- line
in case the student needs help tuning the guitar. After completing the course,
the student will know the basic chords in first position, the most commonly
used rhythm patterns for these chords, several songs using these cords and patterns,
the names of the notes on the strings, and several songs using these notes.
The student will also be able to access the entire Guitar-by-Ear library of
guitar songs. To order the course, send a check for $34.95 to Bill Brown, 704
Habersham Road, Valdosta, Georgia 31602. If you have further questions, you
may call Bill Brown at (912) 249-0628.

Braille Magazines Wanted:

We have been asked to carry the following announcement:

I would appreciate receiving pass-along copies of the following
Braille magazines: Reader's Digest; National Geographic; Fortune; the Isaac
Asimov Science Fiction magazine; the New York Times, Braille edition; or any
other Braille magazines with fiction features. I am deaf and blind. Any letters
must be in Braille. Contact Gordon Janz, 101-2425 Brunswick St., Vancouver,
British Columbia, V5T 3ML.

Omni 1000 Available:

We have been asked to carry the following announcement:

The vision of Ray Kurzweil is helping to enhance the lives
of blind and visually impaired people by allowing them greater independence
and improved productivity. His new PC- based reading system, Omni 1000, converts
the printed word into speech. This leading edge technology offers the most accurate
optical character recognition (OCR) and the clearest synthetic speech available.
Omni 1000 features a 40,000-word dictionary and the ability to operate the system
using your voice, among its useful features.

Omni 1000 is available for as low as $995 for software only
or for just under $4000 as a complete system (pentium PC, scanner, and software).
Upgrade your Arkenstone, Oscar, Xerox, etc., reading machine and receive an
Omni 1000 plus for just $595. For more information, please contact Kurzweil
Educational Systems, Inc., 411 Waverley Oaks Road, Waltham, Massachusetts 02154,
(800) 894-5374, e-mail: [email protected] or visit our website at www.kurzweiledu.com

Elected:

At its January, 1997, meeting the North Central Chapter of
the NFB of Louisiana elected the following new officers: Josh Boudreaux, President;
Brenda Walburn, First Vice President; Constance Connolly, Second Vice President;
Pam Dubel, Secretary; Harold Wilson, Treasurer; and Arlene Hill and Eddie Culp,
Board members.

Hoping to Buy:

I am looking for a Sharp Talking Time One talking alarm clock.
If you have one for sale or if you know where I can purchase one, please call
Tony Lewis at (510) 865-3171 or write 1211 Paru, Apt. E, Alameda, California
94501.

Letter from a Very Young Federationist:

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is James Randall Ostergaard,
son of Jim and Olivia Ostergaard of the Fresno, California, Chapter. I arrived
on January 15, 1997, at 12:33 a.m. I weighed seven pounds, four ounces and was
nineteen and three-fourths inches long.

I am looking forward to attending NFB meetings. I am especially
interested in the Parents of Blind Children Division. Maybe they can help my
mommy and daddy learn how to take care of me. Maybe I'll have my mommy tell
you about some of the things we've been experiencing that first-time blind parents
need to know.

I am excited about life and look forward to being a Federationist.
I know the California affiliate has been waiting a long time for me to get here.
So tell Willows and the gang that I'm rarin' to go after I grow up a little.

Thanks for reading my letter. Here's to a better Federation!

Sincerely,

James Randall Ostergaard

Position Available:

We have been asked to carry the following announcement:

Research Director. Full-time, professional position. Qualifications:
earned doctorate in rehabilitation counseling or a closely related field from
an accredited college or university. CRC preferred. Five years experience in
conducting applied rehabilitation research and/or in grants management activities
with a minimum of two years experience in applied rehabilitation research. Demonstrated
success in securing research grants. Expertise in computerized statistical packages,
spreadsheet packages, and other research techniques required. Applicants must
be able to coordinate and direct research activities of the Rehabilitation Research
and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision at Mississippi State University.
Salary: negotiable, depending upon training and experience. Applications will
be accepted until the position is filled. Send letter of application, resume,
three letters of reference, and transcripts to John Maxson, Chair, Screening
Committee, RRTC on Blindness and Low Vision, P.O. Drawer 6189, Mississippi State
University, Mississippi 39762. Questions regarding the position can also be
sent to [email protected] or call (601) 325-2001. MSU is an Affirmative Action,
Equal Opportunity Employer.

NAC Takes a Hit in the Journal of Rehabilitation:

The January/February/March, 1997, issue of the Journal of Rehabilitation,
perhaps the most prestigious publication in the general rehabilitation field,
published an article titled, "Why Accreditation Failed Agencies Serving
the Blind and Visually Impaired." The author was C. Edwin Vaughan, Professor
of Sociology at the University of Missouri at Columbia. The article's abstract
tells the sorry NAC tale. The handful of agencies still clinging to NAC accreditation
would do well to read this history and consider their actions in the light of
the field's decision to move on, leaving NAC behind. This is what the abstract
says:

Four major organizations provide national accrediting services
for rehabilitation agencies. National accreditation becomes increasingly important
when both consumers of services and those who provide economic support for these
agencies expect increased accountability. The most specialized of these national
agencies is the National Accreditation Council for Agencies Serving the Blind
and Visually Handicapped (NAC). NAC grew out of a two-year planning process
which culminated in the establishment of the new accrediting organization in
1967. Its founders envisioned accrediting more than five hundred agencies that
provided education and rehabilitation services to people who are blind. Throughout
its history NAC has been opposed by well-organized consumers of services and
has not attracted the support of most agencies. It has never reached its envisioned
goals and is now declining. This article reviews the history of this accrediting
organization and discusses the reasons for continuous and intense consumer and
professional resistance. It analyzes why different occupational groups within
this field failed to unite in support of NAC and provides data documenting its
rapid decline during the past decade. The article concludes by exploring available
alternatives for agencies in the blindness field when accreditation fails.

Elected to Serve:

On December 11, 1996, David Stayer, one of the leaders of the
National Federation of the Blind of New York, was elected to chair the Rehabilitation
Advisory Council of the New York State Commission for the Blind and Visually
Handicapped. Congratulations to David Stayer and to the Commission's Advisory
Council.

Scholarships for Part-time Students Available:

The George Washington University is pleased to invite applicants
for the Barbara Jackman Zuckert Scholarship for Blind Part-time Students. The
scholarship fund was established by Barbara Jackman Zuckert in 1985 to assist
visually impaired or blind students seeking higher education at The George Washington
University. It is the goal of this scholarship to encourage enrollment of visually
impaired or blind students by extending financial assistance when other sources
of support are not available.

The purpose of the Barbara Jackman Zuckert Scholarship for
Blind Part-Time Students is now amended to include learning- disabled students
who have a significant deficit in the area of reading. These may be students,
primarily those with dyslexia, who qualify for and use books on tape, such as
those designed primarily for sight-impaired persons.

Applicants for the Barbara Jackman Zuckert Scholarship must
submit a complete application (including a financial aid statement), a letter
of application, certification of disability, and a high school or college transcript
to the selection committee. Applications must be postmarked no later than May
30, 1997. Applications can be obtained from the George Washington University,
Disability Support Services, Marvin Center 436, 800 21st Street, N.W., Washington,
DC 20052. Please feel free to call Christy Willis, Director, Disability Support
Services, (202) 994- 8250, if you have any further questions.

Ninetieth Anniversary Celebration:

We recently received this picture and press release:

With its March issue, the Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the
Blind completed ninety years of uninterrupted publication--a record most
print publications cannot match. The Ziegler came into existence in 1907 following
the serendipitous meeting of Mrs. William Ziegler, who had a blind son, and
a Tennessee newspaper man, Walter G. Holmes, who had a blind brother. He knew
how difficult and expensive it was for blind people to find materials they could
read with their fingers. For example, the then-popular book, Ben Hur, which
cost one dollar in print, cost $10.50 in an embossed form.

After meeting Mr. Holmes in 1905, Mrs. Ziegler agreed to pay
all the costs of an embossed magazine if he would edit it. To this arrangement
he readily agreed, and the first issue was mailed to subscribers in March, 1907.
It required two horse-drawn wagons to haul the dozens of mail bags stuffed with
the bulky raised-dot publication from the magazine's Manhattan plant to the
post office.

At that time Braille was not the most widely-used embossed
reading system. The first run of the Ziegler Magazine, therefore, had
only 2,000 copies in Braille, but had 5,000 in the popular New York Point.

The Ziegler was a pioneering publication in other ways. It
was the first publication to solve the problem of embossing both sides of a
sheet of paper without crushing the dots on the first side. What is now called
"Free Matter for the Blind or Handicapped" was also pioneered by the
magazine. As early as 1904 books lent out by libraries for the blind could be
mailed free of postage. In 1910 editor Walter G. Holmes instigated legislation
that would allow magazines for the blind also to be mailed postage-free. This
legislation was designed specifically to spare the Ziegler from second-class
postage but has since benefited every comparable periodical for the blind and
physically handicapped.

A free subscription may be had by anyone who can read Braille
or has a four-track, half-speed cassette player. For details contact Ziegler
Magazine, 80 8th Ave., Room 1304, New York, New York 10011, (212) 242-0263.
Fax (212) 633- 1601, e-mail: [email protected] Home page: www.zieglermag.org

A history of the magazine, The Ziegler Magazine Story,
is available free of charge in Braille, standard speed cassette, or large print
from the above address.